Home-schoolers want case reheard

The couple at the center of an appellate court decision that bans parents from educating their children at home if they lack teaching credentials filed a petition Friday asking the 2nd District Court of Appeal to vacate its ruling and rehear the case.

The Feb. 28 appellate ruling has caused alarm among the state’s home-school families, who teach an estimated 166,000 students, and has been criticized by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, state Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell and conservative leaders around the nation.

The petition, filed by an attorney representing parents Phillip and Mary Long, argues that the ruling relied on outdated legal decisions, misinterpreted California’s education code and fails to consider parental rights and religious freedom.

Other parties are seeking to have the ruling “depublished” so it would apply only to the family in question and not set precedent for all California home-schoolers, and also plan to appeal the matter to the state Supreme Court.

-- Seema Mehta